MCOL pitfalls and advice

[MayallRoad]

Thanks for these answers. Yes - I'm definitely in the business of limiting my losses at this point. What I didn't follow up on re the earlier thread was that I did manage to return the deposit to him.
He can still counterclaim because the deposit was protected late, but not for the purposes of s21 (which has now been served) no deposit is currently held and so s21 is still possible.

What I didn't want to know is whether it's necessary to give 2 weeks notice or something before starting MCOL? Or can I just get on with it?

Following a visit to Brixton police station on Saturday, CID seem to have expressed an interest in pursuing him for impersonation (in providing false references, and false letters from banks), so am spending part of today putting together a dossier on his mis-deeds. We'll see where it goes.

[boletus]

Using the discretionary grounds have been mentioned in this thread.
Here is what the respected Tessa Shepperson has to say on the subject;

http://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/201...onary-grounds/

However please bear in mind that for private landlords, the discretionary grounds are in most cases, MOST inadvisable.

(The linked article sets out the reasons why.)

[Moderator2]

Two related threads have been merged.

[AndrewDod]

But clearly he is going to totally screw you up on the deposit issue (other thread) which is why he is so smug. But you may as well limit your losses.

[AndrewDod]

I would highly recommend MCOL.

Main pitfall is that it only covers the debt up to the date of the claim, but that is not a big issue (you serve a second claim, or take residual from deposit etc).
Other slight pitfall is that the deposit is bound up until you get resolution on the claim - so you need to clearly separate damages and arrears.

[theartfullodger]

S8g10 can be served if only 1p is unpaid for only 1day.

Yes, serve s8 (all relevant grounds ) and start MCOL TODAY. MCoL should get him CCJ earlier to ensure landlords with the sense to do credit checks get warned. But evict with s21. And no or full, honest, references.

Ensure council get copy of s8

Sorry you've had this cheating scro+T. Best wishes in ensuring he gets booted out, doesn't get help or rehousing by council & hopefully no sane Landlord rents to him again.

Oh, if you ever see him smile, wave, be cheerful:. That will really P:ss him off and worry him

[MayallRoad]

MCOL pitfalls and advice

Hello helpful people. My tenant is 2.5 months in arrears, s21 issued, period to expire end of May. He has said (in writing!) that he intends not to pay rent in order to save for a deposit for his next flat. Serial abuser, fraudulent references at the beginning of the tenancy, and all reported to the police in case CID might investigate his antics as fraud.

I want to use MCoL to try to claim some rent before he might disappear. On 1 April he'll be 3.5 months in arrears.

Any tips on what can go wrong with MCoL? Any common pitfalls or advice? Any success stories from people who have used MCoL successfully?

I'm aware that 3.5 months in arrears makes s8 an option too - but he has past form on counterclaiming for repairs to drag things out, so I want to avoid.

All moral support and information gratefully received.

yours
Justin Watkins

[MayallRoad]

With such a short time into tenancy and already messing around, although discretionary I'm pretty confident a judge would at least award you a suspended order, meaning you can move direct to eviction when he fails to pay again.

Well that's encouraging.... The additional ground I could include in s8 is that his references were all false and can be proved to be so, so he was planning to deceive before the tenancy even began. Does anyone have any experience of how a court might view s8 G17 - false statements?

You couldn't make it up (though having read some of the stories here, you probably could).

Because I screwed up protecting the deposit, there's a always chance he will try to counterclaim and drag things out that way.

[Wright76]

I guess he is being clever keeping arrears at 1.5 month but to consistently pay late or not at all means you can still apply to court.

With such a short time into tenancy and already messing around, although discretionary I'm pretty confident a judge would at least award you a suspended order, meaning you can move direct to eviction when he fails to pay again.

With regards to a money claim I would not even consider this yet. If tenant is as savvy as you say, then they will already know they can claim a penalty against you.

Without including court costs and any future arrears then his arrears are probably still less than your penalty and when he counterclaims you will be worse off.

We had to write off over 2k rent arrears plus hundreds more in damage to the property for the same reason

[KTC]

Grounds 8, 10, and 11. G8 is mandatory, 10 & 11 is discretionary.

G8: 2 months rent unpaid (for monthly tenancies) at time of notice & time of hearing.

G10: Some rent unpaid.

G11: Persistent delay in paying rent.

[GrumpyGit]

Those are discretionary grounds.

I though 'substantial arrears' was a mandatory ground (I know 'persistently late' is discretionary, but every little helps!)

[KTC]

The way I've put it to him is that I'm returning the deposit. If he then wishes to use that money to pay me to settle arrears he can.
But I think he's just going to do NOTHING in the knowledge that I'm manoeuvring to serve s21. I am going to reserve How to Rent, EPC, gas cert and get him to sign a document acknowledging receipt. The same document will say that he confirms he's had notification from the DPS that he can reclaim his full deposit at any time. He's staying 1.5 months in arrears most of the time. I'll deal with getting the money back afterwards, or write it off.

Don't be suprised if he won't sign any receipt. Be prepared that you will have to serve the documents by post or similar.

Can't you get him out for being in 'substantial arrears' and 'persistently late' (sorry I can't remember what clauses/numbers these are) - I'm pretty sure he can't reject these even if you still hold an unprotected deposit

Those are discretionary grounds.

[GrumpyGit]

Isn't there an easier way than a section 21?

Can't you get him out for being in 'substantial arrears' and 'persistently late' (sorry I can't remember what clauses/numbers these are) - I'm pretty sure he can't reject these even if you still hold an unprotected deposit

[MayallRoad]

The way I've put it to him is that I'm returning the deposit. If he then wishes to use that money to pay me to settle arrears he can.
But I think he's just going to do NOTHING in the knowledge that I'm manoeuvring to serve s21. I am going to reserve How to Rent, EPC, gas cert and get him to sign a document acknowledging receipt. The same document will say that he confirms he's had notification from the DPS that he can reclaim his full deposit at any time. He's staying 1.5 months in arrears most of the time. I'll deal with getting the money back afterwards, or write it off.

Any thoughts on chasing arrears with MCOL? Maybe that's for another thread.

thank so much for all your replies - really helpful!

[jpkeates]

You can do that if the tenant agrees.

But not if they don't agree.